Pope to Catholic Charities USA: No one is to be a “leftover”

“No one is to be a “leftover.” No one is to be “excluded” from God’s love and from our care”. This was the heart of a video message sent by Pope Francis to participants in the annual meeting of the Catholic Charities USA, October 5-7 in North Carolina.

Speaking in his native Spanish, Pope Francis said that like the Good Samaritan and Innkeeper in the Bible, “we are called to be in the “streets” inviting and serving those who have been left out”.

Describing the umbrella group of Charities as “the engine of the Church that organizes love”, he praised their work on behalf of “the poor, the lonely single, the elderly shut-in, the young family, the homeless adult, the hungry child, the refugee youth, the migrant father, and so many others”.

He said their work allows these people “to know and experience the tremendous and abundant love of God through Jesus Christ”.
Pope Francis described the charity workers and volunteers as “the very hands of Jesus in the world”, whose witness “helps to change the course of the lives of many persons, families and communities”.

Encouraging the Charities to continue in their work of service, Pope Francis concluded, “We are called to be a church, a people of and for the poor”.

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